Advisors believe second gov’t shutdown will be averted

Three-quarters of advisors believe that Congress will pass a short-term fix early next year to avoid another shutdown.

More than three-quarters of financial sales professionals believe that a short-term fix will be passed to avoid another shutdown early next year.

So reports the Financial Services Institute in a poll of more than 2,500 independent financial advisors. The survey explores the recent and possible future government shutdown, the economy, taxes and other issues impacting their Main Street clients.

According to the poll, 77 percent of advisors believe that Congress will pass a short-term fix early next year to avoid another shutdown. More than half of advisors (57 percent) say the economy will stay flat in 2014, while 59 percent expect a neutral performance from the equities markets next year.

Also, opposition to the Department of Labor’s pending rule to redefine the term “fiduciary” continues to hold strong at 91 percent. And only 57 percent of advisors say they have a succession plan finalized and in place to pass along their practice once they retire.

“Financial advisors are clearly paying attention to policy and politics as Washington becomes more and more a part of their planning for their clients,” said FSI President & CEO Dale Brown. “Our independent financial advisor members have a unique vantage point on these issues as they work closely with Main Street American investors on a daily basis.

“While they recognize the need for compromise and reforms in order to make our country financially sound, they also see how many of these significant changes will impact their clients’ ability to save for retirement, pay for their children’s education or care for aging parents,” Brown adds. “Financial advisor opposition to the Department of Labor’s fiduciary definition proposal has also held strong over the past year. The redefinition could ban the earning of a commission on IRA advice, pricing millions of middle class investors out of the market for affordable retirement advice.